Riyadh bombers disguised as security men
A Saudi security source said that persons believed to be members of al-Qaida organization were disguising in the uniform of Saudi Arabia security soldiers were the individuals who on Saturday evening blew up al-Mahya complex in Riyadh which resulted in killing and wounding scores of people.
The official explained in press statements that the attackers were able reach the complex disguising in official uniforms and crashed the building with a booby trapped car similar to police cars. A diplomatic source confirmed these statements and said that two attackers, at least, took part in that operation.
So far the Saudi authorities did not declare an official number for the victims at a time when news are still contradictory over the number of killings and wounded persons. While officials sources and other diplomats say that at least 10 persons were killed including 4 Egyptians and four Lebanese. News reports quoted western sources saying that the killed are between 20 and 30 and the wounded are 100.
The Saudi sources say that among the wounded are three Americans and three Canadians, all of them of Arab origin. It added that the explosions were a result of what seemed a to be a booby trapped car.
The director of the complex who was inside it when the fire fighting started stressed that 100 are wounded, most of them are children.
The al-Mahya complex explosion recalls the explosions that took place in the Saudi capital on May 12 and resulted in killing and wounding scores including several Americans and westerns.
Because of the explosions, the French embassy in Riyadh urged citizens to be cautious. A statement by the embassy in Riyadh recommended the French citizens not to go out of their residential area unless it is very necessary, during the two next days, and not to send their children to school ( yesterday ) Sunday.
The French statement coincided with a similar statement issued by the American embassy in Riyadh in which it recommended its workers and citizens not to leave their houses. In its statement, the American embassy said it notified the Americans in Riyadh it will close its doors and demands them to stay inside the diplomatic headquarters, waiting for the clarification on the security situations.
The US, Britain, Canada, and Australia recommended their citizens by the end of October not to travel to Saudi Arabia, justifying this due to confidential information about attacks targeting western interests in the kingdom.
A spokesman for the British foreign ministry warned the British citizens in each of Qatar and Bahrain against what he called the danger of a high rate terrorist threat.